San Francisco approves Masonic boulevard plan

San Francisco Bicycle Coalition tells us the SF Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) unanimously approve a plan to transform Masonic Avenue from a traffic sewer into a grand boulevard with wide sidewalks and a raised, buffered cycletrack.

Here’s Masonic as it appears today through the North of Panhandle (NOPA) neighborhood:

Intersections on and near Masonic are among the most dangerous in San Francisco, rampant speeding and numerous physical encounters between cars and pedestrians (and cars and cyclists) where drivers speed through red lights on double right turning lanes.

Here’s the plan endorsed by the NOPA Neighborhood Association and approved by SFMTA looks like this. Note that the sidewalks on either side are wider than the traffic lanes. Narrow radius turns will slow traffic through intersections and large bulbouts will further protect foot traffic. Street parking will be removed, a median with trees added, and five foot cycletracks placed between the sidewalk and the street.